THE Chronicle has teamed up with a Nantwich animal rescue centre to help launch their latest fundraising campaign.

RSPCA Stapeley Grange in Nantwich has launched their “Funds for Food” campaign, where they are trying to raise £50,000 for the centre – their annual food bill for the animals in their care – throughout the whole of 2018.

To celebrate the launch of the campaign, over the next few months we will be featuring a number of different articles and features looking behind-the-scenes at the centre and showing a side of the charity not normally seen by the public.

These will include in-depth interviews with the centre staff and volunteers, and features showcasing a day in the life of a Stapeley Grange volunteer.

Stapeley Grange centre manager Lee Stewart said that since the centre opened in 1994, the number of animals admitted to the centre has gone up by three times – with about six and a half thousand animals admitted to the wildlife centre and between 200-250 cats admitted to the cattery each year.

However he said he is hopeful that the public in Nantwich and further afield, who are always ready to support the centre, will continue to support them on this latest fundraising drive.

The £50,000 total will be raised through cash donations combined with the donations of food given on a regular basis by members of the public and local supermarkets, who regularly hold collection drives to help the centre.

A Just Giving page has also been set up for the appeal, where members of the public can donate to the appeal until December 31, 2018.

Lee said: “The idea of the campaign was to bring together those donations (food from supermarket collections) with general donations so we could document the support coming from the community.

“We want to incorporate all of those food donations coming in from the local community, really to put a figure on that, so the members of the public can be really proud to support us.”

He added that cash donations, food donations and any monies raised from fundraising events held in the community will all be put together towards this £50,000 goal.

The charity receives no government funding and therefore relies heavily on support from the public in Nantwich.

Speaking of this public support, Lee added: “To be honest, it’s incredible.

“The events we have here seem to be more and more supported each year, and our appeals via social media for cat food, towels, or shredded paper – the community just does it and they are incredible. We could not do it without their support.”

He also added his thanks to local companies for their support, and said he hopes this will continue for the fundraising campaign.

He also said he hopes the public will get as much out of the campaign as the charity will by seeing how much their donations mean adding: “It’s a quantifiable celebration of our local support.

“It’s a big target, but I think it’s very doable and I think that we have got a good few months in which to do it.”

To contribute to the fundraising campaign, visit www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/rspcahq/stapeleygrange.